


and in the unknown i found her

by messofunfinishedthoughts



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angella is Rescued (She-Ra), Episode: s03e06 The Portal, Gen, Mara Lives (She-Ra), Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, The First Ones (She-Ra)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29985732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messofunfinishedthoughts/pseuds/messofunfinishedthoughts
Summary: after adora sees mara in the portal, something stirs in her, a mission that she knows she must fulfil. but etheria needed her, her friends needed her. the portal incident left the rebellion without a queen, and it was glimmer's time to rise to the throne. the war got darker, the horde became more ambitious, and soon most of etheria was under their control. then the heart of etheria problem arose, and adora had to save the world...even if that meant severing her connection with she-ra.but then prime arrived. glimmer was captured, and bright moon had to be abandoned, and adora was lost, with no direction. but she had a mission, and that was to save glimmer. then the mission was to save catra. and the biggest goal of all was to save etheria. which, by the skin of her teeth, she did.now, a year after the war, the dust has settled, and adora wants to refocus on the mission of discovering what exactly happened to mara. was she dead, or simply trapped within the space between dimensions, like queen angella? and if she was trapped, would it be possible to save her? would it be possible to save mara and angella?'they'll be trapped between realities, possibly forever.'
Relationships: Adora & Mara (She-Ra), Light Hope & Mara (She-Ra), Mara & Razz (She-Ra)
Kudos: 4





	and in the unknown i found her

"There is no more time." Entrapta says, putting her fist underneath her chin in deep thought.  
"It al makes sense now. It's- It's your sword. That portal is centred on you, it's following you." Entrapta reveals. Glimmer and Bow stare at a wide eyed Adora.  
"What?" Adora manages to utter. Entrapta smiles, and begins to fade away, the portal slowly taking her away from existence. Adora runs forward.  
"No!" She yells, trying, and failing, to grab Entrapta as if she could somehow bring her back.  
"You need to remove the sword from the inside." Entrapta explains.  
"It's powering the portal." The ceiling begins to open, the purple-pink light of the portal breaking through.  
"As soon as it's gone, everything will be right again." Entrapta reassures with a soft smile. "It was nice being friends with you."  
The scientist princess disappears, leaving a stricken Glimmer and Bow, and a devastated Adora.  
"Entrapta!" The blonde calls out, but it's no use. The ceiling finally caves in, and Glimmer and Bow groan.  
  
The next thing the trio know, they are stood outside the Crystal Castle, which Glimmer and Bow, still unable to fully remember their lives before the portal, do not recognise. They look around, scared and confused.  
"Where are we?" Glimmer asks, panicked.  
"We're at...the Beacon...?" Adora answers, walking forward.  
  
Bow wraps a supportive arm around Glimmer, a gesture to reassure the Princess. Adora looks up at the sky, and gasps as it flashes, going from a sky full of moons, to something else entirely. Small specs of light now decorate the sky like glitter on a blanket. Adora had seen them before, but she knew Etheria did not have them. This was impossible...  
"Stars?" Adora chokes out. The stars flash again, and the sky becomes darker, the stars bigger and brighter, so many different colours, yet still so beautiful. Ironic that they would appear now when the world is being destroyed.  
  
Adora stares up at the Beacon, remembering all the times she has trained with Light Hope and Swift Wind here. She recalls first finding the place, knowing nothing more about it than it being a First One's ruin on enemy territory, in a place she'd been banned from going to her entire life. Now, it was a starting point for her friendship with Glimmer and Bow, it was the place where she had realised that she needed to start treating Catra as an enemy, as much as it pained her to admit. It was ironic, wasn't it, that her first act of disobedience to the Horde had led her to her own destiny. For She-Ra was her destiny. But without the sword, without knowing where it was, how was she supposed to stop the portal?  
  
"Adora, what is happening?" Glimmer asks, breaking Adora out of her trance.  
"It's what Entrapta said." Adora responds, panicked and scared. "Reality is unravelling faster now. I-" Adora stammers, a cry caught in her throat.  
"I think we might be too late." Adora admits, hopelessly. How was she supposed to find the sword now? The blonde girl looks up at the Crystal Castle, but gasps at the sight before her. A woman of a thin build with slim, toned muscles, wide shoulders, tan skin, gray eyes, thick eyebrows, and full lips, donning pink lipstick on her top lip. Her hair is a deep brunette tied back into a waist-length braid with side-swept bangs. At the base of her braid, the woman sports a golden, cylindrical hair clip with a purple band. At the end of her braid, she wears a diamond-shaped clip beneath what appears to be a purple hairband. Along with her hair accessories, the brunette wears a gold headpiece that wraps around the nape of her head and comes out to a point above her ears. Her outfit consists of a light blue leotard with a sweetheart neckline and a pointed, purple belt. Beneath her leotard, she wears deep blue pants. Her leotard has white, butterfly sleeves that match a partial skirt hanging from her belt, atop her hips. Her boots are a very similar design to Adora's except they are purple, and heeled.  
  
As Adora and the woman lock eyes, the other girl blinks, her mouth agape in shock. They know each other, Adora is sure of it. She takes a step forward, a name on her lips, one which she never thought she would utter to the person themselves.  
"Mara?" Adora asks, shocked. Mara steps forward, and opens her mouth, the letter 'A' falling off her lips, before the ground cracks open, taking her as well. Adora gasps as the pink light, still in disbelief about the moment before. Her hair whips around her face, the winds created by the instability of the portal becoming heavier and more torrential. She was running out of time. But Adora knew, in that moment, before she lost everything else, that if she did get out of this, if she and her friends managed to survive the portal, she would get the answers she needed.  


  


* * *

  


Adora sighs contentedly as she watches Glimmer flick between different dresses in her wardrobe, trying to pick out one for the meeting she had to attend in Mystacor this Friday.  
"You know, Glim, I don't think they'll mind what you wear." Bow points out.  
"No, no, let her. Sparkles could do with looking good for once." Catra jokes. Glimmer swiftly throws a heel at the feline woman, who manages to narrowly avoid it.  
"Now, now, temper, temper." Catra smirks. Adora lightly smacks her girlfriend on the leg in a scolding manner.  
  
Using the word 'girlfriend' for Catra never got old for Adora. After all they had been through, with their childhood, with the war, with Prime, they deserve to be happy, and Adora is beginning to recognise that now, thanks to Perfuma's guided meditation/therapy sessions. Adora promises herself that they will be happy, no matter what happens in the future. Because finally, they have each other. Adora smiles at this thought, and recollects a moment down in the Heart, where she and Mara, or a vision of Mara. stood over Etheria, basking in the true beauty of the planet. Mara had asked Adora why she was willing to sacrifice herself, and assured her that this was not her destiny. Her predecessor had asked what Adora wanted when this was all over, and Adora had known, but she felt stupid. Heroes didn't put their needs before the needs of those who needed saving. That was selfish. But Adora knew now. All she wanted was a future with Catra, here in Bright Moon, their home. And truly, that is all she ever wanted.  
  
"Hey guys?" Adora asks. Glimmer looks at Adora from her wardrobe, whilst Catra gazes at her girlfriend from her perch besides her.  
"I know we have the whole bringing magic back to the universe mission, but I have another mission suggestion." Adora explains.  
"Adora, don't you think you've had enough missions to last a life time? The war has been over for nearly a year now. Etheria is almost completely rebuilt, we're going to visit the Star Siblings in a few weeks time to use their alliances to forge our own...what other mission could you have?" Glimmer asks.  
"Sparkles is right. We don't want you wearing yourself out again." Catra adds, giving one of her soft smiles to Adora. They are only ever reserved for Adora.  
  
"I want to research into the portal Entrapta and Hordak built." Adora is careful with her wording. She knows the portal is a delicate topic for both of the women she is currently in the company of.  
"What? Why?" Catra asks.  
"Because I think Mara is trapped between dimensions, like Queen Angella." Adora explains. Glimmer sits down on a stool, her attention and interest now piqued.  
"Is this because you saw her, when we were in the portal?" Glimmer asks.  
"Yes. Think about it. Razz told me that the same incident with the portal happened in Mara's time too. And we know the Heart of Etheria was activated when Mara opened the portal to Despondos." Adora explains.  
"So if she opened a portal at the same time as the Heart of Etheria-" Glimmer begins.  
"There's a chance she got trapped between dimensions." Catra concludes.  
"Exactly." Adora says.  
  
"Wait hold on. Mara _intentionally_ created that portal. To be trapped between dimensions, you need to stop it." Glimmer points out.  
"Not necessarily. I found some of Hordak and Entrapta's research points after the portal. A portal, if used to teleport, as it were, into or out of a pocket dimension, traps the person who activated it. That could be what happened to Mara!" Catra exclaims. Adora's mouth falls agape.  
"That explains everything. Mara, Light Hope..." Adora realises, stunned. "I didn't destroy her then. The portal's power did."  
"Shadow Weaver said a mere mortal couldn't handle the power of the Heart. So perhaps an AI wasn't able to withstand the power of the portal she created-" Catra says.  
"Because the magic got more volatile over the years, which the First Ones didn't account for!" Adora clicks her finger in realisation.  
"The Alliance meeting is next week." Glimmer explains. "We should ask Entrapta and Hordak about what else they found in their research. There might be a way to get into the space between dimensions, even for a short moment."  
"It's a crazy idea, but it could work. They always do seem to work with us." Catra jokes. Adora laughs, and wraps her arm around Catra.  
"Then let's do this. Best Friend Squad style."  



End file.
